BJN Radio – Ep. 149: Rowdy’s return, praise for the bullpen, and more!

The Blue Jays took two of three games from the Brewers this week, giving them back-to-back series wins for the first time since April.

We talked about Rowdy Tellez making his first return to Toronto since being traded a couple of years ago and the excellent pitching the Blue Jays have been getting from their bullpen lately. We also talked about the strong play of Kevin Gausman and Bo Bichette and if they’ll be in the mix for some individual awards at the end of the season.
After that, we took a look around the American League East and ahead to the upcoming series with the New York Mets.
You can listen to the episode here…

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Leafs bargain wingers, praise for puckmovers, and the value of organizational knowledge: Leaflets

Tonight is game three, the first game in Tampa and in order for the Leafs to advance they now need at least one win on the road. Their best chance is getting it while Hedman and Cernak are either still out or at least borderline healthy enough to play. You’d hope to see the Leafs take advantage of the situation a little, but when have we ever seen the Leafs do anything the easy way?
Here are a few other stray Leafs thoughts to get you through gameday.
Discount wingers
It’s certainly worth remembering that not every prospect pans out, but much to the delight of Leafs fans, Matthew Knies has really made it clear that he can be a serviceable NHLer even when he isn’t on the scoresheet. He made the most of his opportunity coming in for Bunting and it seemed that Aston-Reese and Lafferty have also taken notice of how good Knies is and they elevated their game to make their cases for staying in the lineup when Bunting returns for Game 5.
Bunting and Knies have their fates tied in another way. A big selling point on Bunting has always been that he’s been a top six player that doesn’t cost a lot. This summer that whole doe …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 137: No clutch in Houston, the Las Vegas Athletics, the Designated Pinch Runner, and more!

The Blue Jays travelled to Houston and dropped two of three to the Astros. Next up, they’ll head to New York for a huge series with the Yankees.

We talked about Kevin Gausman getting lit up for the first time this season and what went wrong in his start, Chris Bassitt putting together his strongest start as a Blue Jay, and what José Berríos did right in his seven-inning outing. We also talked about the nightmare eighth inning in Wednesday’s game and the lack of clutch hitting the Blue Jays have had.
After that, we looked at the report that the Oakland A’s are moving to Vegas, the note that Shohei Ohtani could be traded, and the new rules that Major League Baseball is testing out in the Atlantic League.
You can listen to the episode here…

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Grading the Leafs trade for McCabe and Lafferty (Is there anything higher than an A++?)

Grading the Leafs trade for McCabe and Lafferty (Is there anything higher than an A++?)

Three cheers for bias. Let’s be completely honest, a Leafs site rating a Leafs trade, when we’ve spent years hungry for a moment when the Leafs were committed to going big, we are destined to love this trade. Take us with a grain of salt. We’ve earned the right to be excited, and I guess while this trade is universally loved, perhaps a nugget of truth can be gleaned from our thoughts accompanying the highly supportive grades.
Michael Mazzei: A-
If you did not think the Leafs were all in after acquiring Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, then Monday’s trade should be further proof that Kyle Dubas is pushing his chips to the centre of the table.
Jake McCabe should be a solid replacement for Jake Muzzin who may not come back for a long time. McCabe will be leaned on a lot in defensive situations and on the penalty kill while also providing a physical element that the Leafs needed more of with their regulars on the back end. The fact that they get him at 50% retained over the next two seasons means he is going to be a mainstay for the foreseeable future.
In the two games the Leafs playe …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Leafs Rumours: Goaltenders, a Garland and Schenn “who says no?” and who is in on who

Leafs Rumours: Goaltenders, a Garland and Schenn “who says no?” and who is in on who

We are at the three week to the deadline mark and Kyle Dubas is still doing Kyle Dubas things like making sure that no one knows what he is up to. We’ve recently seen how that can work to a team’s advantage as Lou Lamoriello came out of nowhere to grab Bo Horvat without having to suffer through the media weighing in on what would be a fair package for him to give up for Horvat. Did he overpay on the trade, maybe? Did he overpay on the contract, probably? Still he got his guy and everyone on Long Island seems happier for it. The Canucks probably aren’t upset either if the Islanders land in that sweet spot of narrowly missing the playoffs and getting the best possible version of a first round pick in 2023 for Bo Horvat.
Since Kyle Dubas is silent, we’ve been left with two things we can do with this post and that’s dive into the Leafs/Canucks trade proposal from The Athletic and check in on who is connected to some of the trade targets that Leafs fans like talking about.
First, we’ll start with a small tidbit from Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts…
10. I don’t think Toronto trades for a goalie unless the Leafs are convinced it’s a better option than what they have in the NHL or even the AHL. The Maple Leafs have limite …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Dubas’ silence is golden, and the importance of Rielly: Leaflets

Dubas’ silence is golden, and the importance of Rielly: Leaflets

We are now on day three of no Leafs hockey. It’s now less than a week to go until the Leafs are back at it against the Blue Jackets. And we are now under four weeks until the NHL trade deadline. It seems like the perfect time to get into some Saturday morning Leafs takes.
The lack of information that comes out of the Leafs front office
I’m sure that Kyle Dubas loves the fact that the trade deadline reporting on the Leafs is that they are very much in on a forward. Or a defenseman. Or both. The fact that no one can nail down what the Leafs priorities are and that insiders are left to desperately speculate on what the Leafs could be up to makes Kyle’s job a lot easier.
One of the reasons this has to be a win for Dubas is that pretty much everyone with an audience would be dissecting why his target isn’t right for Toronto or why the price should be so much higher than Toronto is willing to pay. Understandably the second that Toronto gets attached to a player in a rumour it’s probably simpler to just move on to someone else rather than refine the deal as anyone that Toronto is lookin …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

How Bobby McMann turned an AHL contract into an opportunity with the Maple Leafs

How Bobby McMann turned an AHL contract into an opportunity with the Maple Leafs

Three months ago, all that stood between Bobby McMann and his dream was an opportunity.
And now he’s got it.
On Monday, the 26-year-old was awarded the AHL’s Player of the Week honours after notching six points in his last three games with the Marlies. It was a sign that McMann was headed in the right direction though I’m not sure he knew where his path would lead him the next day.
McMann’s season began as it normally would: healthy, strong, and ready to take the next step in his career. Except three games in, it was put to a screeching halt because of a lower-body injury that kept him out for a month and a half.
“It’s always a battle for somebody who comes back from injury,” said McMann fives games after fully recovering. “But I think I’ve done a good job so far with not paying attention to it much and just disregarding it, and trusting that it’s there and it’s ready.”
The 26-year-old went on a five-game point streak after returning from injury, then was silent on the score sheet for three games before going on a scorching run again. This time, McMann went on a six-game point streak and his play climbed to new heights throughout it.
“He l …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

Raptors: Celtics gush over O.G. Anunoby after another All-Star-type game

Raptors: Celtics gush over O.G. Anunoby after another All-Star-type game

The Toronto Raptors have lost three of their last four games, with their only win coming against arguably the NBA’s worst team in the Magic. While the defense has been suspect of late, as evidenced by the beat-up Boston Celtics scoring 116 points during their third game in four nights, O.G. Anunoby remains consistently excellent. […]
Raptors: Celtics gush over O.G. Anunoby after another All-Star-type game – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

News and Notes: Blue Jays don’t tender three players, looking at other team’s non-tenders, and more!

On Friday evening, the Jays announced that three players would not be offered a contract, while every other arbitration-eligible player was tendered.

Non-tending Bradley Zimmer and Raimel Tapia were expected, as they had been designated for assignment off the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 deadline. However, non-tendering Vinny Capra came as a shock in all honesty.
While Capra has very little major league experience, he slashed .283/.378/.403 with five homers in 222 plate appearances with the Buffalo Bisons. He also had as many walks (29) as strikeouts and finished 2022 with a 114 wRC+.

Vinny Capra freezes the left fielder with this nuke.#BlueJays #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/mhaIhOuhpZ
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) September 8, 2022

While the Jays will need to make cuts to the 40-man roster before signing players, I figured there were more obvious subtractions from the 40-man. No doubt Capra will bounce back quickly (he’s heading to Estrellas in the Dominican Winter League), and I reckon we’ll see him in the majors at some point.
There are 11 Blue Jays who’ll be receiving contracts from the team, they are listed below, along with their projections according to MLB Trade Rumors.:
RP Adam Cimber, $3.2 million
RP Trevor Richards, $1.5 million
RP Tim Mayza, $1.9 million
RP Trent Thornton, $1.1 million
RP Jordan Romano, $4.4 million
RP Erik Swanson, $1.4 million
C Danny Jansen, $3.7 million
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., $14.8 million
UTL Cavan Biggio, $2.6 million
SS Bo Bichette, $6.1 million
2B Santiago Espinal, $2.1 million
The two names that may be surprising are Trent Thornton and Trevor Richards. Let’s start with Richards.
Trevor Richards:
The 29-year-old had a 5.34 ERA and 4.07 FIP in 64 innings pitched in 2022. While he struggled with a high walk rate (12.5 BB%) like he never has in his career, his 29.2 K% was one of the highest on the Blue Jays with more than 15 innings pitched. Surprisingly, only Jeremy Beasley had a higher K% (29.7%) than Richards with for pitchers with 15+ …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 111: Three of five against the Rays ain’t bad!

What a week.

The Blue Jays won three of five games in their critical series with the Tampa Bay Rays and are now a half-game up on them in the standings.
We looked back at the Tampa gauntlet series and talked about Bo Bichette’s amazing ninth-inning battle, Vladdy Jr. busting out of his slump with his 100th homer, Mitch White coming through with some much-needed innings and where he fits into the team’s plans, and a whole bunch more.
After that, we took a look around the American League and Toronto’s upcoming series with the Baltimore Orioles.
You can listen to the episode here…
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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation